I like to think that I'm a pretty funny person, but if you'd ask my family and friends, they'd probably characterize me more as obnoxious. The sad, hard truth is that it's hard to be funny. Sure, you can make some folks laugh, but you've probably also bored or offended the rest.

So, I may not be destined to be a stand-up comic, but I know a good comedian when I see one. John Ramsey is one such comic. The Austin attorney-funnyman always keeps it clean and is always funny. Don’t believe me? He’s been named one of the top comic acts in Austin and he’s performed in Aspen for HBO’s USA Comedy Arts Festival and in New York City for Comedy Central’s Live at Gotham series. Most recently, he came in second place in CMT’s Next Big Comic online contest. I told you he’s the real deal.

Lately, Austin has been noticed nationally for its many high-quality comedians. Ramsey, an attorney with Nunis and Associates, says that being surrounded by so many high-caliber comics keeps him on his feet and helps him to improve his act. “At this point, I’m just really interested in getting better and making more people laugh,” Ramsey says.

Ramsey returns to the stage — this time as a headliner — May 19–22 (that's this Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday) at Cap City Comedy Club. This will be Ramsey’s first time headlining a national A-list club, and it just so happens to coincide with his five-year anniversary of graduating law school and starting stand-up comedy (which happened at the exact same time). “I’m excited because it’s a new step for me,” Ramsey says. “I’m also just curious to see where five years of doing this has taken me.”

So, be sure to catch Ramsey before the rest of the country catches on to him — that way you can tell all your friends that you saw this dude way back when. It won’t make you funny, but, at the very least, it’ll add to your cool cred.